Slow-moving snowstorm pummels Midwest, heads east

CHICAGO  A slow-moving storm that has paralyzed parts of the nation’s midsection for days with heavy, wet snow that strained power lines, clogged roadways and delayed hundreds of flights, dumped at least 6 inches of snow on western Michigan early Wednesday as it churned eastward.

The storm that made travel perilous from the Oklahoma panhandle to the Great Lakes on Tuesday was expected to linger for another day over Chicago and parts of the Midwest. Up to a foot of snow was forecast for northern New England on Wednesday evening.

Up to 4 inches of wet, heavy snow smothered metro Chicago on Tuesday, while as much as 7 1/2 inches blanketed some northern suburbs, said Matt Friedlein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in northern Illinois. A chilly rain kept city streets slick during the Wednesday morning commute.

Other parts of the Midwest were hit much harder, with more than 15 inches of snow in parts of Oklahoma, up to a foot in Kansas and up to 13 1/2 inches in Missouri. In Iowa, officials warned of hazardous travel conditions as temperatures fell and ice formed on snowy roads.